Improved railway safety-switch



R. M. JOHNSON & E. STILES. RAILWAY SAFETY SWITCH No. 38,302. Patented Mar. 30, 1869.

stluift r tl 5am gem RICHARD M. JOHNSON AND EZRA STILES. OF BR'IDGEPORT, con- NECTICUT. a 1

Letters Patent No. 88,302, dated Mm]. so, 1869.

IMPROVED RAILWAY SAFETY-SWITCH.

I The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent andmaking part of the same.

.invented a new and useful Improvement in \Vurking Railroad-Switches; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction, character, and operation of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which make part of this specification, in which--' Figure 1 is a peispectire View of the switch, the machinery for working it,' a portion of the drawbridgc, one form of a safetydrack, and sign-ah,

Figure2 is a'perspective view of one of the wheels, and a portion of the chain which works theswitch, and through that, the signal;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of one end of the drawbridge, carrying a curved rack and a spurwheel', which will operate the chain to work the switch, and thereby the signal.

Our improvementconsists in using a safety-track and a switch-track, fitted and hung in the usual way,

(except its connection with an eccentric,) but worked by the operation of removing the key which secures the movable portion of the drawbridge, so that the 'switch will be changed to correspond with the safetytrack, before the draw can be opened; and so that the draw must be closed before the switch-track can be brought back to coincide with the general track, so that it will he impossible-for the train'(or any part of it) to run into the space opened by the removal of the draw, (.or that portion of the bridge which is revolved or otherwise removed,) to open a channel for vessels, Ste.

We make and hang, or fit the switch-track in the usual way, as represented at A, fig. 1, except that we fit, between and near the vibrating ends of the switchrails Band B, a block, 0, which hangs on journals, working in'be'arings in the rails, one of which is shown at a, fig. 1. 7

And in the central part of this block 0, we make a mortise, with its sides parallel tot-he rails, as represented at b, in which the movable tenou 0 works on an eccentric, as represented at d, fig. 2, so that when the wheel 0 is revolved, it will vibrate the switch from the main track D1) to the safety-track E E, so as to carry the train away from the bridge to a place of safety. I

\lVe make the safety-track so as to form a circle, or an ellipse, as represented at E E, fig. 1, making the circle sufliciently large to receive the whole train, or to give a sufficient time to stop the train; .or the track may be laid on such a curve as to carry the train on to the main track again, back .of the switch, or in any curve which will carry the train from the bridge, and to a. snfiicient distance for stopping it by the ordinary means. I

Wevihrate the end of the switch-track B B by means of an'endless chain, shown atfand g, fig. 1, and a part of which is shown in fig. 2, (as it appears on the wheel) working on two suitable spur-wheels,represented at c, figs. 1 and 2 On one of these spur-wheels, (the one under the vibrating end of the switcln) we extend the arbor both above and below the wheels. That which extends above 'is shown at 71-, fig. 2, and on one portion of thepcriph- I cry, and at a sufficient distance from the centre, we

have a pin, as d, the eccentric motion of which, by its connection with the movable tcnon c, and the semirevolntionof the wheel 0, vibrates the switch the required distance.

On the upper end of the arbor of the other wheel, or that which is located near the end of the draw H of the bridge, as represented at G, fig. 1, we fita bevelgear wheel, (secured to the other wheel by a clutchpin,) which we revolve by means of a bevel-gear pinion, as represented at i, fig. 1.

And on thearbor of this pinion 1), we fix a common pinion, as represented at-j, which works in the teeth of the rack I, on the upper edge of the key which svcures 'the draw of the bridge, when closed, so that the draw cannot be opened until the .key is drawn out; and by revolving the pinion to remove the key I, it will revolve the wheel G and the spur-wheel under it, which, by n ieans of the endless chain f 91, will revolve the other spur-wheel e, and cause the eccentric, d, fig. 2, to vibrate the switch-track A, fig. 1, to the safety-track E E.

We make the chain with open links, as represented at f, fig. 2, and f g, fig. 1, or in any other way, suitable to work on the teeth of the wheel 0, which teeth may be made of any convenient shape, provided they have sufficient strength.

The part of the'bridge here represented is a little .more than one-half of that kind ofdraw which is to be opened by revolving or vibrating Qthem ninety degrees, or one-fourth part of a circle, on a fulcrum, or centre, as indicated at m, fig. 1. And the end has a projecting piece, or block, as indicated at n, to stop its swinging when the rails coincide with the rails of the stationary track D D.

. And on the opposite side it is secured, in its closed position, by means of a key, as shown at Z, which can bere'moved only by the operation of the pinion -j,whilc being revolved to change the switch A from the main track 'to the satiety-track.

- And we replace the key 1 to secifre the draw H, by revolving the pinion j in the opposite direction, to vibrate the switch from its connection with the safetytrack to the main track, so that the draw H can never be opened until after the switch has been changed to the satiety-track.

And by the use of a suitable stop, (worked by a spring, or otherwise,) to hold the key until the draw H returns to remove it, the switch cannot be returned from the safety to the main track, until the draw H 'is firmly secured in its place by the key I, thus renderdraw H, the rack 11 will revolve the wheel q, which will revolve the wheel 0, by means of the endless chain f g, and shiftthe switch-track to the, safety-track; and by returning the draw to its proper place in the bridge, it will reverse the switch. But we prefer the whole in the form and by the operation first particularly described, deemiug it the safer method.

13;; a suitable variation in the shape and operation of the key I, the wheels, chain, and eccentric, before described, will work equally well for drawbridges where the draw is opened by moving it in the direction of the length of the bridge.

When the switch is operated by the endless chain, &c., as before described, we fit a bevel-gear wheel on to the lower end of the arbor 71- ot the wheel 0, under the switch, with which we gear three other hevel-gear wheels, in the proper form to revolve the signal stat!- L, fig. 1, horizontally a half revolution by each operation, so that the signal, whether of painted colors, or lights, may be 1.1roperly-shitted every time the switch is changed; so that if the draw is open, the signal M will show it by the proper color..

' The arbor, or shaft of the pinions 1' and j, may be turned by a lever, or bar, as shown at N, or otherwise.

Instead of using a chain for the whole length, we prefer the use of rods on each side, as shown at r, inakingthe chain-parts only sufiicient to work on the wheels 0, and to have the rods supported by anti-friction rollers.

For the other end of the draw, the devices and their operations and results will he the same.

\Ve are aware that the signal and switch, and also that the signal and draw have been connected. We therefirre do not claim either of them as such; but

What we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of the mortised block 0, (which has a tenon c and an eccentric, (1,) with the'wheels 2,

endless chain 12, and rods 1', when operated by the lever N, rack I, and pinion z'ysubstantizilly as described.

2.- In combination with the above, the arrangement of a bevel-gear wheel to the lower end of the arbor h of the s ulr-wheel c, (which is connected with other 7 bevel-gear) to operate the signal-staff L, substantially as described, as and for the purposes set forth.

3. In combination with the device for vibrating the switch, and operating the signal, the safety-track E E, when constructed as and for the purpose specified.

' RICHARD M. JOHNSON.

, EZRA STILES.

Witnesses:

WM. D. Ocnrrss, R. FITZGERALD. 

